4/11/2007 @ 12:01AM

Hottest New Luxury Watches

If you thought Big Ben was the world’s most fabulous timepiece, think again.

When the Baselworld 2007 watch and jewelry exhibition begins in Switzerland this week, close to 2,100 of the world’s top watch makers will display and debut their latest creations. A week later in Geneva, a second exhibition starts–the SIHH (Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie).

These shows aren’t about your average wristwatch. Companies like Vacheron Constantin, Rolex, Omega and Rado will unveil everything from metiers d’art to watches bristling with complications (mechanical functions that go well beyond the telling of date and time).

And demand has never been greater. Last month the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry reported that Swiss watch exports rose 20.7%, compared with the same time last year, reaching $930 million in overseas sales. Exporters, including the Swatch Group,
Compagnie Financiere Richemont
and Rolex, exported 1.8 million watches sold, up 7.5% from February 2006.

“Watches have become the luxury item people are starting to focus on,” says Patricia Pao, chief executive of Pao Principle, a retail consultant group based in New York City. “Watches are no longer used [just] to tell time. They are looked upon as a fashion accessory.”

Standout Showstoppers

Many of the watches debuting this week are the first of their kind.

The Lange 31 by A. Lange & Sohne, for example, will be the first in history to have a power reserve that lasts 31 days. The stacked mainspring barrels within the watch (which help power it) each measure 1,850 millimeters and create enough energy that allows the piece to run for a month without being manually rewound.

Another watch with a long power reserve is the Piaget Polo Chronograph, which is the first self-winding movement in the company’s 133 history. It has a power reserve of 52 hours.

“Women are starting to appreciate watches like they would a great car,” says Doron Basha, chief executive of Milus. “They are paying attention to the technical and mechanical aspects of it, as well as the look and feel.”

Patek Phillipe will debut a new version of last fall’s Phillipe Nautilus. It boasts a stainless steel casing and a sapphire crystal back, as well as a self-winding mechanical movement. The Swiss Army Dive Master also debuted in 2006, but the new version boasts a self-winding mechanism that has never been seen in a diving watch.

Innovative Wristpieces

Still other watches boast novel complications.

The Jaeger Le Coultre Master Eight Days Perpetual allows the user to see the inner workings of the piece. It can also tell the date, day of the week, month and year, as well as moon phases. Not complicated enough for you? The Vacheron Constantin Patrimony Classique has an hourly alert; a tourbillon that counters the effects of gravity, ensuring that the chronometer keeps perfect time; and a perpetual calendar.

What makes these timepieces so special? Some say it is the complexity of movement rather than external ornament that sets their value. Most watchmakers use instruments as precise as surgical tools to place each dial, spring or gear.

“The most expensive watch I have ever seen was for $900,000, but it wasn’t encrusted in diamonds and platinum,” says Andrew Block, chief executive of Tourneau. “These watches take weeks, sometimes month to create. The labor involved make them a work of art.”